At noon, Ichin drove Utaha and the others to the restaurant.
After adjusting herself in the morning, Haruno had fully returned to her usual state. She no longer cared about what happened earlier and could even joke about it with Ichin and the others.
Led by a waiter to their reserved seats, they found that several people had already arrived.
Hazuki, Hifumi, Nene, and the three Gokou sisters.
Seeing the two little girls beside Gokou Ruri, Ichin smiled and said, "Hello, Tamaki, Hinata. Merry Christmas."
The two girls were delighted to see him. "Merry Christmas, Ichin-nii!"
Utaha smiled and took out two gifts. "What about me, then?"
"Utaha-onee-san!"
Seeing the presents, the two girls immediately ran over happily, each hugging one of Utaha's arms.
After some sweet coaxing and acting cute, they finally got their Christmas gifts from her.
But just as they returned, Ichin also smiled and took out two small gifts. Not just him, Yukino and Haruno had also prepared gifts for them.
This time, they didn't tease them further and handed the gifts over directly.
After sweetly thanking them, Tamaki and Hinata eagerly began unwrapping their presents.
Watching the two girls, Gokou Ruri said helplessly, "You really didn't have to spend so much."
Ichin smiled. "It's nothing, it didn't cost much. And it's rare to see them. We didn't give them anything for their birthdays before, so this makes up for it."
The girls happily opened their gifts. While none of them were particularly expensive, they were all well-chosen, things like cute accessories that perfectly suited their tastes.
Soon, everyone had arrived, and lunch began.
Cantonese dim sum was quite rare in Japan, and this place in Ginza was one of the most authentic Ichin had tried. Some of the dishes tasted almost the same as what he had eaten back in China.
Though the price was a bit high, given the location in Ginza, it was still acceptable.
After a satisfying meal, everyone prepared to head out shopping.
At this point, Ichin wisely chose not to join.
Walking to the car, Ichin said to Utaha and Yukino, who followed him, "Alright, I'm going to Miyamura's place to buy some cake and then head home. After resting for more than a day, I'll feel uneasy if I don't get back to work. If you're not coming back for dinner, just send me a message. I'll take care of it myself."
Utaha nodded with a smile. "Got it. We'll pick out some clothes for you while we're shopping. If we find something suitable, we'll buy it."
"Go ahead," Ichin replied. "The wardrobe at home is much bigger now, buy whatever you want."
After moving into the villa, besides the bedroom wardrobes, Utaha and Yukino also had a separate room just for clothes. Some of Ichin's clothes were stored there too, and there was still plenty of space left.
Driving off, Ichin went straight to Miyamura's cake shop. The cake from yesterday had already been finished, and the three at home all liked it, so he needed to buy more.
When he arrived, Miyamura wasn't there. According to his mother, he had gone to Hori Kyouko's house in the morning. Yesterday had been too busy at the shop due to Christmas Eve, so he hadn't gone. Today, he had been called over by her whole family and would likely stay until evening.
After listening with great interest to Miyamura's mother talk about her son's love life, Ichin finally took his leave and returned home with the cake.
As soon as he got back, he saw that some decorative ribbons on the living room wall had been pulled down by the cats, and were now tangled all over George.
Setting the cake aside, Ichin went over to untangle George, then looked at Peppa, who was sitting nearby, and picked him up.
"Alright, tell me. Was this your doing? George isn't smart enough to pull these down and wrap himself up like this."
Peppa tilted his head, meowed twice at him, then jumped out of his arms and ran off to play with his bro.
Meanwhile, Mozuku, who had been left here by Hazuki, was lounging lazily on the cat tree together with Mochi.
Among all the cats in the house, those two were the oldest. Perhaps because of that, they often stayed together.
After giving each of the cats some treats, Ichin went up to his studio and began working on the proposal for Persona 4 Golden.
It was time to start drafting the plan for the second installment. This one would be based on the version he remembered, P4G, which was also one of his favorites.
As for the development standard, he would follow the approach of the first game, with some differentiation in art style, and adjustments to the battle UI, since that couldn't simply be reused.
Ichin spent the entire afternoon working on UI design, coming up with three different proposals. After the New Year holiday, he planned to discuss them with the team and decide which one was most suitable.
"Hmm… but if I'm doing this, doesn't that mean I'm taking over the UI designer's job too?"
Looking at the designs he created, Ichin laughed and shook his head. It wasn't a big deal though. He had only done a small portion to establish the style. The rest could be handled by the design team.
Around five o'clock, Utaha called to say they wouldn't be coming back for dinner.
As for Ichin, he simply ordered takeout and got himself a pizza.
It wasn't until eight in the evening that Utaha and the others finally returned. Hazuki also came back with them to pick up Mozuku.
Seeing the three of them carrying multiple shopping bags, Ichin smiled. "Looks like you had a great time."
"Of course!"
Putting the bags down, Utaha ran over and hugged him with a smile. "We picked out several outfits for you. Come try them on!"
"You actually bought them? I still haven't even worn one of the new clothes from last time."
Yukino took out one of the bags and said, "Try this coat first."
"Alright…"
Seeing the eager look in Yukino's eyes, Ichin had no choice but to agree. Over the next half hour, he tried on five different outfits in a row.
After finishing with his clothes, they moved on to looking at the new outfits Utaha and the others had bought for themselves.
It had to be said, the fitted sweaters paired with black stockings and short skirts were definitely quite pleasing to the eye.
...
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